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Suicide, Social Capital, And Hate Groups In The United States

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  • Brendan Szendro

Abstract

In recent years, hate groups have increasingly attracted public attention while at the same time escaping the purview of scholars. Although overt prejudiced attitudes have lost public support in recent decades, hate group and hate‐group activity has remained relatively consistent. What, then, explains the enduring power of hate? I argue that hate groups have arisen in reaction to the loss of social capital, particularly in regard to rural and exurban communities. Using county‐level suicide rates as a proxy for the loss of social capital, I test this theory using data from the lower 48 states from 2010 to 2019. I find that each 5.38 percent increase in suicide rates is associated with 1 additional hate group forming. These findings highlight the importance of examining quality‐of‐life in understanding far‐right activity, and challenge previous findings with regard to rurality and hate. En los últimos años, los grupos de odio han atraído cada vez más la atención del público y, al mismo tiempo, escapan al ámbito de los académicos. Aunque las actitudes manifiestas de prejuicio han perdido el apoyo público en las últimas décadas, la actividad de los grupos de odio ha mantenido relativamente constante. Entonces, ¿qué explica el poder perdurable del odio? Sostengo que los grupos de odio han surgido como reacción a la pérdida de capital social, particularmente en lo que respecta a las comunidades rurales y exurbanas. Utilizando las tasas de suicidio a nivel de condado como un indicador de la pérdida de capital social, pruebo esta teoría utilizando datos de los 48 estados más bajos de 2010 a 2019. Encontré que cada aumento del 5.38 por ciento en las tasas de suicidio está asociado con la formación de un grupo de odio adicional. Estos hallazgos resaltan la importancia de examinar la calidad de vida para comprender la actividad de la extrema derecha y desafían los hallazgos anteriores con respecto a la ruralidad y el odio. 近年來,仇恨團體越來越受到公眾的關注,同時也逃離了學者的視野。儘管近幾十年來公開的偏見態度已經失去了公眾的支持,但仇恨團體和仇恨團體的活動仍然相對一致。那麼,如何解釋仇恨的持久力量呢?我認為仇恨團體的出現是對社會資本喪失的反應,特別是在農村和郊區社區。使用縣級自殺率作為社會資本損失的代表,我使用 2010 年至 2019 年來自較低 48 個州的數據檢驗了這一理論。我發現自殺率每增加 5.38 percent 就與 1 個額外的仇恨團體形成有關.這些發現強調了在理解極右翼活動中檢查生活質量的重要性,並挑戰了先前關於農村和仇恨的發現。

Suggested Citation

  • Brendan Szendro, 2021. "Suicide, Social Capital, And Hate Groups In The United States," World Affairs, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 184(4), pages 501-520, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:woraff:v:184:y:2021:i:4:p:501-520
    DOI: 10.1177/00438200211053889
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sean E Mulholland, 2010. "Hate Fuel: On the Relationship Between Local Government Policy and Hate Group Activity," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 480-499.
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    3. Kushner, H.I. & Sterk, C.E., 2005. "The limits of social capital: Durkheim, suicide, and social cohesion," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(7), pages 1139-1143.
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